Round 7 Review: State League One
There were some very interesting results in State League One this weekend, following on from a couple of midweek matches which tested the speed of recovery for four teams.
Leaders Dulwich Hill failed to win in two matches over three days, in the process losing their first match of the season on Sunday afternoon. Nepean picked up four points over two days and have joined Dully at the summit of the competition, along with the Balmain Tigers, who are now the only side to remain undefeated.
Elsewhere the Rage came away with the spoils from the Hawks nest, Northbridge tore a depleted Camden apart at Ron Dine, and Western NSW Mariners and Inter Lions shared a six goal thriller in Bathurst.
Our match of the round was a rescheduled Round Three encounter at Magdala Park, an all Tigers’ clash, between the second placed and undefeated Balmain Tigers, and the somewhat rejuvenated, Camden Tigers.
Balmain Tigers – Camden Tigers 0-1 (match abandoned 66’)
The rescheduled Round Three match between Balmain Tigers and Camden Tigers at Magdala Park last Wednesday evening had to be abandoned in the 66th minute by referee, Mr Jamie Gavin, when Camden striker, Ryan Shuttleworth, suffered an horrific leg injury in a collision with Balmain goalkeeper, Chris Leontios.
The young Camden striker had shown promise earlier in the season playing for the club’s U/20s side, and had only been promoted to the first team in the previous week’s 2-2 draw with Prospect United. Shuttleworth had been a menace all evening against Balmain with his vigorous running, challenging everything that came his way in the attacking third, and it was one such challenge, looking to get a slight touch on a through ball inside the penalty area, that resulted in the accidental and unfortunate collision.
May I take this opportunity on behalf of all related to State League One, Football NSW, and the broader football community, to wish Ryan a speedy recovery, and we look forward to seeing him menacing defenders as soon as he’s back on his feet.
The clash itself brought together two sides with contrasting fortunes thus far in season 2013.
Balmain Tigers had started the year the much brighter, and went into the match undefeated and sitting pretty in 2nd position on the ladder. Balmain’s depth was ready to be tested however, with Josh Karpes suspended, and all of Will Donato, Rosario Occhipinti, and Liam Cole overseas for a variety of reasons. Coach Joe Di Giulio did have the Di Mento brothers, Jacob and Domenic, at his disposal, however, and took the opportunity to give his new acquisitions a start.
Camden Tigers traveled to North Ryde propping up the ladder and without a win, having secured their first point the previous week in a ‘come from behind’ 2-2 draw with Prospect. Coach Andrew Montgomery had regrouped his troops in recent weeks, making certain the team were consistent in their competitive, combative style, knowing the results will soon start to reflect their efforts. Striker Blake Armstrong had netted four times already this season, and would be the go to man once again, no doubt.
Camden almost broke the deadlock as early as the third minute, when Balmain’s goalkeeper, Chris Leontios, was forced into a brilliant point blank save from Michael Wood’s fierce snapshot following a Camden corner.
Jacob Di Mento responded for Balmain just three minutes later, skying his half volley from inside the penalty area following a long throw in, although he was under pressure from a couple of Camden defenders.
Balmain’s Domenic Di Mento was making a nuisance of himself on the left flank, and from one weaving run on 12 minutes initiated a Balmain attack, the passing movement seeing Gavin Wenyon wriggle past a challenge before cracking a left foot shot wide of the mark as Balmain threw numbers forward.
But Camden were definitely up for the battle, as evidenced by a pressing game they adopted across the paddock, starting high up the field with both strikers, Blake Armstrong and Ryan Shuttleworth.
Camden midfielder, John Cagney, tried his luck on 17 minutes from fully 25 yards with a curling shot that was headed towards the top right hand corner. Fortunately for Balmain, and unlike his midfielders, keeper Chris Leontios was alert to the danger, diverting the shot out for a corner with a finger tip save.
Camden kept at it and on 24 minutes once again forced Leontios to react, the Balmain custodian tipping a far post header from the lively Ahmed Thafer over the bar.
Just after the half hour mark Camden’s pressure almost paid the ultimate dividends. As the Balmain defence tried to play the ball out of their half, Camden’s Ryan Shuttleworth stole possession before sending a weighted through ball for his strike partner, Blake Armstrong.
All money was on Armstrong to grab goal number five for 2013, but he was foiled in a one-on-one by Leontios in the Balmain goal, snatching the ball at the second attempt.
If this was a boxing match, Camden were in front on points, but it’s on the scoreboard where the money is, and Balmain had weathered the storm, and in fact, almost stole the lead twice just before the break.
Firstly, some swift passing in and around the edge of the Camden penalty area saw the ball fall to Balmain’s James Kiosidis, but he skied his shot well over the bar, and then a couple of minutes before half time, Costas Fiakos did likewise after Jacob Di Mento had found him with a well weighted lay off inside the box.
Balmain returned from the sheds looking to get on the front foot from the get go, evidenced by Denny Noor’s angled volley on 53 minutes which stung the fingers of Camden’s Matthew Johnston, the custodian doing ever so well to keep his goal in tact.
A few minutes later and Johnston was at it again, tipping a speculator from Balmain’s Kiosidis around the upright at full stretch.
The deadlock was finally broken just after the hour mark, when Camden’s Ryan Shuttleworth worked his way down the left wing before turning inside and threading a pass in to the feet of Ahmed Thafer.
Thafer’s sharpness had been a threat all night to Balmain, and this time was no different as he twisted and turned inside the box, eventually stabbing the ball past Balmain’s goalkeeper, Leontios, to the delight of his team mates.
Just three minutes later and the match was abruptly over, when the unfortunate Shuttleworth and Leontios collided as they focused on a pass into the penalty area, the Camden striker coming off the worse for wear.
As I mentioned earlier in the report, we all wish Ryan Shuttleworth a speedy recovery from this incident and hope he is back on the paddock as soon as possible.
On the night, Camden showed they can mix it with the best of them, and their intensity and application to the task at hand was there for all to see. Balmain were found wanting at times, possibly as a result of too many first team players missing simultaneously, but they will treat this as a wake up call and move forward from here.
Stay tuned to the Football NSW website for information relating to the outcome of this match.
Match Stats
Balmain Tigers 0
Camden Tigers 1 (Thafer 62’) match abandoned 66’ minute
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Magdala Park, North Ryde
Referee: Mr J Gavin
Assistant Referees : Mr S Lightfoot and Mr V Bertuccioli
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. Johnson.BALMAIN TIGERS :
1.C.Leontios, 11.J.Cook, 26.D.Di Mento, 15.G.Di Mento, 10.L.Di Giulio, 8.C.Fiakos, 21.L.Gonzalez (20.Y.Kritikos 51’), 2.T.Hyde (capt), 43.J.Kiosidis (7.M.Outeirinho 59’), 5.D.Noor, 39.G.Wenyon.
Substitutes Not Used: 3.S.Bauld, 111.L.Vitale.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
CAMDEN TIGERS:
1.M.Johnston, 2.D.King (capt), 3.J.Robertson,
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. Johnson.10.B.Armstrong, 9.L.Brown, 8.J.Cagney, 7.S.Doherty, 11.R.Shuttleworth, 4.B.Simpson, 12.A.Thafer, 6.M.Wood.
Substitutes Not Used:.88.M.Brandalise, 14.V.Finocchiaro, 13.N.Hasiuk, 5.J.Keane, 15.D.Webster.
Yellow Cards: 8.J.Cagney 34’.
Red Cards: Nil
RESCHEDULED MATCH – Round Three
Nepean FC – Dulwich Hill 2-2
Dulwich Hill came back from the dead to snatch a point against Nepean FC at Cook Park, St Marys on Thursday night, in a rescheduled Round 3 encounter.
Both sides came into the match on a wave of positive results, but it was Nepean who settled the quicker, and took the lead when Nikola Pozder netted direct from a free kick around the 20 minute mark.
Great lead up play by Terry Pannowitz and Ajak Deng saw Daniel Borg double his team’s advantage midway through the second period, and Nepean almost closed off the match late on, Miki Awad and Borg getting in each other’s way as they looked to convert a far post cross.
Dully rallied and pulled a goal back from James Villazon, before Frank Calcagno scored a last gasp equalizer in injury time to give the sides a share of the spoils.
An entertaining match for the neutral, the draw went a long way to suggesting both sides will be there or thereabouts come finals time at the end of the season.
============================================================================
STATE LEAGUE ONE
ROUND SEVEN REVIEW
Granville Rage scored a goal at the end of both halves to become the first team to come away from Hawkesbury City’s Benson Lane with the spoils.
Nenos Bobo made an incisive run down the left flank late in the first half, before cutting the ball back for Zachary Watters to slot home and give the Rage the lead.
Carl McMahon had an inspired match for Granville between the sticks, keeping his goal in tact throughout the second half until the Rage wrapped it up late on. Watters was at it again, being fouled inside the Hawkesbury penalty area, and substitute, Phillip Pyliotis, converted to give Granville a very welcome three points.
Nepean FC backed up from Thursday night’s epic encounter against Dulwich Hill to overcome Prospect United at Cook Park on Saturday night, scoring at the death to take the spoils.
Adam Malouf’s charges faced a very short turn around, having played at 8:30pm on Thursday evening, probably not getting to bed till midnight or so, up early for work Friday, and some even work Saturday. A very sore and sorry team showed up at Cook Park, and battled throughout, even though Prospect had the edge in the first 45 minutes.
Nepean’s defensive effort was stubborn, with Marc Gane and Nathaniel Harnett impregnable as Prospect surged forward, especially via the nimble flanker, Ben Lam.
Both keepers were called upon to make the odd save as the scoreboard remained untouched going into the half time break.
Nepean grabbed a second wind after half time, and only Prospect keeper, Michael Steell, stood between the home side taking an advantage, especially one brilliant parry to keep out a Sebastian Camacho header.
Adam Malouf brought on some fresh legs as Nepean began to tire, and the substitutes added some spark. Daniel Borg went inches from scoring mid way through the half after a tough challenge in the box from Steell, the ball trickling wide after the two players collided.
Prospect weren’t finished either, and shortly after forced Nepean’s keeper, Ryan Trussell, to make a great save with his legs, whilst Chris Camilleri rattled the cross bar as the match went end to end.
Nepean suffered a setback just minutes from full time, with centre back, Nathaniel Harnett, sent off for a dubious last man challenge. But Nepean kept at it, and managed a last gasp winner in injury time. Dylan Fagan received the ball just inside Prospect’s half, and played a great through ball to Terry Pannowitz, who collected the leather before finishing with style to win it for Nepean.
The fixture list didn’t do Nepean any favours, but they returned serve with two outstanding performances in 48 hours, drawing with league leaders Dulwich Hill – after leading 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to go – and backing up to beat a formidable opponent in Prospect. They duly take their well deserved place at the top of the competition ladder, along with Dulwich Hill and Balmain Tigers.
Hakoah Sydney City East took advantage of a flat Dulwich Hill – who incidentally were playing their second game in three days – to run out 2-0 victors at Arlington Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The league leaders had really worked the entire ninety minutes on Thursday night, snatching a 2-2 draw against Nepean, and just couldn’t get going in this encounter against a very focused Hakoah outfit.
Hakoah scored a goal in each half to become the first side to defeat Dulwich Hill, and in the process have moved up to nine points in 8th place, only a point from fourth spot.
An exciting match unfolded at Proctor Park in Bathurst, with the Western NSW Mariners and Inter Lions sharing the points in a 3-3 draw.
The Mariners have been in a rich vein of form in recent weeks, and took that into this match with a goal on just three minutes. A swift passing movement saw Brent Osborne play in James Christie, and he set up Nick Rutherford for his fourth goal of the season.
Kachi Enyi had scored a last gasp equalizer for Inter Lions last weekend after coming on as a late substitute, earning himself a starting berth this week. The burly striker repaid coach, Matteo Maiorana’s, faith by netting twice before the break to edge Inter in front.
Adam Scimone equalized for the Mariners on the hour mark, before Kenny McCall gave the home side a 3-2 lead after some great build up play from Ricky Guihot.
Pouring bodies forward during the final frantic minutes brought Inter Lions an in jury time equalizer via youngster, Anthony Foti, giving both sides something to take home from an entertaining match.
Northbridge FC have been toiling away without much reward of late, but it all came good at Ron Dine Reserve on Sunday when they put a very much depleted Camden Tigers to the sword, winning 6-1 in the end.
Camden Tigers came into the match on the back of a tough midweek trip to North Ryde to play Balmain Tigers. That match was abandoned when young striker, Ryan Shuttleworth, was injured and taken to hospital.
Camden started the match with four players from the club’s U/20s side, and it got worse after just four minutes when Ahmed Thafer was taken to hospital with suspected concussion, having been struck by the ball.
If that wasn’t bad enough, an own goal by the Tigers got Northbridge up and running, and the visitors raced to a 3-0 half time lead after further goals from Paul Orgad and Mitchell Lensink.
John Cagney pulled a goal back for Camden early in the second half, but Northbridge stepped up a gear and scored another three goals to finish the match at 6-1, with Callum McGrouther, Ry Hardy, and Kieran Hall all netting.
A game of two halves at Wentworth Park saw the undefeated Balmain Tigers emerge winners against a gallant Gladesville-Ryde Magic, courtesy of an injury time goal scored by recent signing, Jacob Di Mento.
The halftime score of 2-0 in favour of Balmain was a valid indication of the territorial dominance of the home side during a half in which they looked to maintain possession and moved the ball seamlessly from defence into attack. Gladesville, for their part, struggled to keep possession of the ball and seemed content to absorb the pressure of their opponents and attack on the counter whenever possible.
For all of Balmain’s early pressure there were very few real chances on goal during the first half, with the Gladesville defence standing strong against the Tigers’ attacks.
In the 20th minute, however, Balmain’s fullback Stuart Bauld ventured down the left wing and delivered a clever ball across the 6 yard box. The cross did enough to bounce beyond the reach of numerous Gladesville defenders, and was met on the far post by Costa Fiakos who finished strongly to put the hosts in front.
In the 35th minute Balmain’s mercurial Joel Cook managed to dribble across the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a powerful left foot effort that was duly snaffled-up by the Magic’s keeper, Kyriakos Tohouroglou.
Balmain’s second goal was again the result of a cross from the left. A Balmain free kick on 42 minutes from out wide saw the ball bounce across the 6 yard box once more, beyond the reach of both the defence and goalkeeper. This time it was Balmain’s Josh Karpes who reacted first in a crowded box, deflecting the ball into the net to double his team’s advantage.
Gladesville emerged from the dressing sheds down by two goals and seemingly with it all to do if they were to pull back the 2-0 lead. The task was made all the more difficult for the Magic when fresh substitute, Ali Al Edhan, was shown a straight red card in the 50th minute for an infringement on Domenic Di Mento.
Down to ten men and most pundits would have given the visitors no hope from here. However, the tide seemed to turn for Gladesville within a few minutes of losing a player and they began to launch the ball forward more often and, in fact, dominated territorially for most of the second half. Surging runs from the likes of young striker Mitchell Smith and energetic midfielder Stephen Speirs stretched the resolute Balmain defence on a number of occasions.
It took until the 70th minute before Gladesville earned themselves a lifeline. Big Tim Woodhouse climbed highest to win a long punt upfield by Kyriakos Tohouroglou, deflecting a bouncing ball into the path of striker Scott Tonkin. Tonkin duly headed the bouncing ball against the inside of the post and into the net to give the Magic a lifeline.
Gladesville remarkably drew level in the 80th minute, and the move started when fullback, Ben Kerr, made one of his many forays down the right wing, before cutting inside and pushing an incisive ball into the box. Amidst the scramble of cover defence, the referee adjudged that the ball collected a Balmain defender on the arm, and promptly awarded a penalty kick to the visitors. Scott Tonkin, celebrating his birthday, took on the responsibility, stepping up to convert the kick for his second goal of the match, restoring parity in the process.
With ten to play it was now anyone’s game, with both teams emptying their bench to bring on fresh legs and lift their respective troops for one last ditch effort. Neither side were content on sharing the points, with Gladesville’s Mitchell Smith coming closest to netting, latching onto a Tonkin through ball before pushing the leather agonizingly past the upright.
The contest was finally decided in injury time. Balmain cleared a long ball out of defence to catch Gladesville stretched at the back. Balmain’s Jacob Di Mento chased down the through ball and, whilst the defence anticipated a cross to the centre, Di Mento cunningly struck a powerful shot low and hard into the back of the net from a very acute angle.
It’s back to the drawing board for the unlucky Magic, whilst the victory and subsequent three points sees Balmain draw level at the summit of the competition, with a game in hand on both Dulwich Hill and Nepean.
-By Frank Speranza
